Detroit: An American Autopsy

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"Pulitzer Prize winning journalist LeDuff (Work and Other Sins) delivers an edgy portrait of the decline, destruction, and possible redemption of his hometown. Returning in 2008 after 20 years away, the former New York Times staff writer finds a city in its death throes. The "Big Three" car companies are months away from begging for bailouts, arsonists are burning down vacant buildings, firefighters have faulty equipment, ambulances take too long to arrive, and violent criminals walk the streets. As a reporter for the Detroit News, LeDuff tries to uncover where all the money, targeted toward municipal services, is really going. As he exposes the corruption and ineptitude of the city's government, he introduces readers to Detroit's larger-than-life former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick; the now jailed "self-serving diva" and former city councilwoman, Monica Conyers; "political hit man" Adolph Mongo, as well as the city's long-suffering firefighters, a mother who lost two sons to random gun violence, and a corpse encased in four feet of ice. Noting that Detroit is where "America's way of life was built, " LeDuff argues that the city is a microcosm of what's occurring in the rest of the country: foreclosures, unemployment, rising debt. In a spare, macho style, with a discerning eye for telling details, LeDuff writes with honesty and compassion about a city that's destroying itself and breaking his heart."  (Publisher Weekly)

Lean in: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

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"Sandberg's (COO, Facebook.com) experience as a woman in the workforce began with her time as an early employee at Google before she held the position of chief of staff at the U.S. Treasury Department. In light of her enormous successes, Sandberg's awareness of how few women hold positions of power in today's companies has increased her determination to help women advance. This book offers her take on ways for women to improve their situation, such as being more self-confident, acquiring a mentor, remaining engaged, getting more help at home, etc. These are not new ideas. What makes them noteworthy is who is doing the talking. The book is conversational in tone but also well researched, enhancing the facts with stories from the trenches. VERDICT A lively book on a topic relevant to all working women as well as the men they work with (and for). There will be interest because of the author's renown.-"  (Library Journal"

Traveling the Power Line: From the Mojave Desert to the Bay of Fundy

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"Journalist Crouch (Jukeboxes & Jackalopes) leaves her home state of Wyoming to learn how electrical power is generated across the United States and to uncover the impact of various production methods. In story-driven prose, she shares her experiences touring many types of power plants, from nuclear to solar. Crouch addresses pros and cons of each method alongside detailed verbal descriptions, though generally photographs would have saved more than the proverbial thousand words. Throughout, she returns both in body and spirit to her home base, contemplating the local climate and how it impacts daily life. Crouch balances information obtained from power plant tours with commentary from local and national environmental advocacy groups; at times, complex environmental concerns impede decision-making, such as pitting local wildlife against greener power. Readers will gain information about each form of power wind, coal, nuclear, natural gas, biomass, geothermal, solar, and hydroelectric but Crouch's aim is not to provide an exhaustive scientific evaluation, and she avoids direct comparison and specifics, such as efficiencies, in her discussion. Rather, this is a layman's guide to the choices facing much of the country as state and federal governments move toward cleaner fuels that produce fewer greenhouse gases. "  (Publishers Weekly)

Generation Roe: Inside the Future of the Pro-Choice Movement

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"In her first book, pro-abortion rights activist Erdreich tries to bring some clarity and reason to the arguments around a woman's right to choose in light of recent attempts to restrict that right. A new generation of women takes Roe v. Wade for granted, but the author sees this cavalier attitude engendering a dangerous apathy and shortsightedness in terms of checking the encroachments on that landmark law that have been gradually gaining since the Hyde Amendment of 1976 (prohibiting federal funding for abortion). In several sagaciously researched essays, Erdreich presents some of the voices of women who choose abortion and why. She examines the nuances that we need to hear, even if the reasons cause others to examine their own beliefs and biases; the lack of training in abortion by medical students and others in the medical profession, even though abortion has become one of the most common surgical procedures in America; the misrepresentation in film and media about women who choose abortion; and a litany of creeping restrictions on the law across the country. Since President Barack Obama's election in 2008, harassment of and violence against abortion providers and clinics have risen, exemplified most tragically by the murder of Dr. George Tiller, a Wichita doctor shot by protestors in May 2009. Despite the Federal Access to Clinic Entrances law of 1994, clinics and providers are continually threatened, scaring potential providers away and closing doors to needy women. Erdreich points to the enormous headway the LGBTQ rights movement has made in comparison to the taboos still surrounding women's basic right to choice. An honest probing of law, public perception and conscience in the abortion debate."  (Kirkus Reviews)